Egypt graft agency rules to detain Mubarak, wife

Suzanne Mubarak

CAIRO, (Reuters) – Egypt’s anti-graft agency said yesterday it had ordered former President Hosni Mubarak and his  wife detained as part of a probe into charges they used their  influence to amass wealth unlawfully.

Suzanne Mubarak

Investigators interrogated Mubarak, who has denied  wrongdoing, for more than three hours on Thursday evening in the  Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, and questioned his wife  Suzanne yesterday, the state news agency MENA reported.

It was the first detention order for the ousted president’s  wife, although the public prosecutor had already ordered Mubarak  detained on April 13 as part of a separate investigation into  charges of abuse of public funds and the killing of protesters.

Some media reports have suggested the Mubarak family’s  wealth may total billions of dollars, a major rallying point for  anti-government protests in a country where around 40 percent of  the population lives on less than $2 per day.

“I expected it, yet it still feels good to hear it,” Mohamed  Ahmed, a 23-year-old banker, told Reuters in Cairo after hearing  about the order.